To whom it may concern, I can not believe emirates can be rated the number one airline. They may have the newesst planes, airport and some attractive attendants but their customer relations game is as bad as the worst airlines, in my opinion.
On Jan.20 I arrived at Dubai International at 10am. My scheduled flight was 11:45 am.. I went to the self check kiosks and put in my passport to no avail. There were 6 kiosks and not 1of them worked. This is after I tried the previous day to check in on line but their system said they had no record of my schedule after I used my flight no. and booking no..
I looked at the check in counter and there was no line. The boarding area on my outward bound flight was so chaotic and crowded that I decided to have a peaceful breakfast in the main lobby, so I ate there in peace and quiet where I could keep an eye on the incoming traffic. There was little activity so I was not concerned about checking in. I arrived at the counter a bit before 11 am and was told I was considered a no show and would not be allowed to check in, AND...my ticket was now invalid.
I had purchased my ticket thru a reseller and do not recall receiving any information regarding " the rule".
Upon finding the ticket counter, I was informed they could put me on an 8:15pm flight and pay $716. I kept my composure and pleaded with the supervisor to at the leadt, upgrade me to business class since the flight was not full. He said they COULD NOT do that.
So, I sucked it up and bought the new ticket and checked in. With a moderate crowd now, I made it to the gate in about 20 minutes. I would have had time to spare on my morning flight. As I hunkered down at gate 26 for the long wait, I observed flight EX803 for Jeddah boarding. The gate had been closed for over 1o minutes yet, passengers were sauntering in as the gate agent beckoned them. I understand they will do this for late connecting flights but I am not so sure that was the case. If rules are rules, they should be enforced in all cases. I also witnessed on my inbound flight, privious. A passenger refusing to move from where he sat to his assigned seat. There were several attempts by different attendants to get him to move but he held firm and got away with it.
Then, do not get me started on the behior in the gate area. There was a family whose kids treated it like their private playground and were loud as a 747 taking off. The nearest bathroom was closed and the next one that was quite distant, had a crowd using it to bathe in, complete with feet in the sinks.
THAT is precicely why I delayed my checking in for so long.
I also asked the gate supervisor for an upgrade since I would now miss the nights sleep and yet pay for the hotel room all ready booked. She was curt, unsympathetic and insulting the way she just kept repeating " THE RULES " over and over.
If I had just gotten a modicum of sympathy and respect, I would have accepted my punishment but first of all, if you are going to have strict rules, it is their duty to make sure you are informed of them ahead of time and a token gesture as allowing me to at least use their VIP waiting lounge would have helped me to forget about the unfortunate situation.
To add insult to injury, my new flight was a debacle with another family from hell in the row in front of me. Their children were disruptive and disrespectful to passengers and crew. I do not blame the brats. I blame the parents that were with them the entire time and the crew who did not have the courage or concern for other passengers, to let them know that type behavior in unacceptable.
End of rant,haha